American Held Hostage in Syria Reunited With Family in U.S.

Peter Theo Curtis' family is asking for privacy as he adjusts to freedom

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An American writer who was held hostage by an al Qaeda affiliated group in Syria for 22 months and then freed over the weekend has been reunited with his mother in Boston, his family said.

Forty-five-year-old Peter Theo Curtis arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport late Tuesday afternoon, and then was reunited his with his mother Nancy Curtis at Boston Logan after a connecting flight that evening.

"I have been so touched and moved, beyond all words, by the family who have come up to me today - strangers on the airplane, the flight attendants and, most of all, my family to say welcome home," the statement said.

His mother said while she's relieved by her son's release, she's also grieving with the family of Jim Foley, the American Journalist beheaded by ISIS in a gruesome video that surfaced last week.

"It was a great relief to know that he (Theo) was safe finally after such a long time, but the events of the past week have left me really numb, so it's hard to feel elation when you are also feeling terrible pain," Nancy Curtis said.